2019 Official Forum Member Review-Callaway Epic Flash Drivers

[yungkory]

6 hours ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

great job on the stage 2's gents!  very impressive.

It seems you all had a great time and generally noticed the same things - color scheme/sound.

Funny that no one liked the color scheme they chose.  I wonder who came up with it?  They really should stick with the basic red/white/blue colors.  Good thing it's just on the bottom of the club so you can't see it at address. 

Wonder if any of you guys would entertain changing the paint fill to something else?  

Was it the green?  the yellow?  or the combination of both?

Needless to say - if this is the first driver built on AI and with all the success, I don't see how Callaway goes away from it.

 

6 hours ago, THEZIPR23 said:

Thanks for the kind words. 

It is interesting that we all had basically the same take on colors and the sound. Both colors are horrible and the headcover makes it worse. My guess is that if the performance wasn't as great as it is, those two things could be a deal breaker. I have thought about doing some paint fill but I'm a little OCD so not sure if I could handle it if it wasn't perfect.  I would imagine that in the not to distant future it won't be just Callaway doing AI, it will be everyone. 

I'm not a fan of the color scheme at all. It is just TOO MUCH green/yellow, and I totally agree about the headcover -- I've been searching for a custom replacement since day 1 of receiving the driver, but can't find something I'm totally sold on. I don't trust myself to change the paintfill as part of a DIY project, so I'm thankful that the crown looks nice and the hideous color scheme is only on the bottom like @GolfSpy Stroker mentioned.

 

One thing I forgot to mention in my Stage 2 was that most of my strokes are gained on the tee box, and that this club definitely helps me achieve this:

 

 

It might be that the rest of my game is just a total dumpster fire at the minute but who knows. I wish I could just get 13 Epic Flashes in corresponding lengths and lofts and tee the ball up on every shot

[edingc]

I have some great updates to share since the stage two reviews went up earlier this week.

I played my regular Tuesday morning nine holes and had a couple awesome drives, including a 240-yard opening drive that left me a 60 degree wedge in to the green. I burned the right edge of the hole on my birdie attempt from 12 feet, but I'll always take a tap-in par to start a round.

Yesterday, I played in the work scramble I referenced in earlier posts and my stage one. Last year, my horrific play almost made me give up golf for good. This year was so much better.

I had a great warm up on the range, and it carried over to the course. Our team shot a 65 (-7), which was in the upper half of the leaderboard.

We used my drives on four of the nine holes where we hit driver. That's a huge confidence boost for me to take into the second half of my golf season.

The course we played is a very tight Links-style course, and it severely punishes drives that go too far left or right. There were a few drives where I was certain I had hit the ball far too left or right, but I was surprised to find my ball not far off of the fairway. So much forgiveness to the Epic Flash.

Two holes really stand out. Hole No. 1 (our third of the day) is a reachable par 5, guarded by a creek running in front of a very shallow green. I smacked my drive right in the middle of the fairway, pulled a 4 iron from 190-ish and landed just on the front of the green. One of my playing partners drained the 50-60 foot eagle putt. By far our best hole of the day!

I didn't have my GPS running, but I hit my longest drive of the year on hole No. 12. There is a power pole marking the start of a small dog leg right. I setup aiming left of the pole, playing my baby fade, and just crushed the ball. It faded around the power pole and landed in the fairway beyond. Based on my Google Maps estimation, the drive totaled somewhere between 265-275 yards, which is a bomb for me.

Ironically, we ended up not taking my drive on this hole as one of my playing partners hit the same distance but had a slightly better angle to the pin.

 

[sirchunksalot]

I have some great updates to share since the stage two reviews went up earlier this week.

I played my regular Tuesday morning nine holes and had a couple awesome drives, including a 240-yard opening drive that left me a 60 degree wedge in to the green. I burned the right edge of the hole on my birdie attempt from 12 feet, but I'll always take a tap-in par to start a round.


Yesterday, I played in the work scramble I referenced in earlier posts and my stage one. Last year, my horrific play almost made me give up golf for good. This year was so much better.

I had a great warm up on the range, and it carried over to the course. Our team shot a 65 (-7), which was in the upper half of the leaderboard.

We used my drives on four of the nine holes where we hit driver. That's a huge confidence boost for me to take into the second half of my golf season.

The course we played is a very tight Links-style course, and it severely punishes drives that go too far left or right. There were a few drives where I was certain I had hit the ball far too left or right, but I was surprised to find my ball not far off of the fairway. So much forgiveness to the Epic Flash.

Two holes really stand out. Hole No. 1 (our third of the day) is a reachable par 5, guarded by a creek running in front of a very shallow green. I smacked my drive right in the middle of the fairway, pulled a 4 iron from 190-ish and landed just on the front of the green. One of my playing partners drained the 50-60 foot eagle putt. By far our best hole of the day!

I didn't have my GPS running, but I hit my longest drive of the year on hole No. 12. There is a power pole marking the start of a small dog leg right. I setup aiming left of the pole, playing my baby fade, and just crushed the ball. It faded around the power pole and landed in the fairway beyond. Based on my Google Maps estimation, the drive totaled somewhere between 265-275 yards, which is a bomb for me.

Ironically, we ended up not taking my drive on this hole as one of my playing partners hit the same distance but had a slightly better angle to the pin.
 

That's a couple of great rounds and a monster drive! It's really good to hear that the Callaway has given you confidence off the tee and the fact you all used your drives four times is great to hear.

I think some of the weather you've experienced is moving down south, as we are predicted to get storms all weekend. I didn't play last weekend to dedicate time to building a flower bed for the wife she's been dreaming about for a while. She's been amazing through this test, so I thought she deserved something special in return. I'm going to get my fix tomorrow by heading to my local launch monitor and seeing what numbers the Sub Zero can produce.

Again, awesome job@edingc! I think you're off to a good start heading into the second half of your golf season.

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[THEZIPR23]

I keep expecting reality to set in and some backwards progression more towards what has been normal for me. It just is not happening. The Flash just continues to perform amazingly!

[THEZIPR23]

So Arccos doesn't count driving the green on a par 4 a fairway hit!

[sirchunksalot]

So Arccos doesn't count driving the green on a par 4 a fairway hit!

Well, you did over shoot it.

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[THEZIPR23]

11 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

Well, you did over shoot it.

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A saber metric dilemma for sure. 

[GolfSpy BOS]

Well, you did over shoot it.

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It can’t go in if it’s short! Hahaha


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[sirchunksalot]

The big question is, did you make the eagle putt?

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[THEZIPR23]

Nope hit a good putt but didn't make it. Tap in birdies are always fun though. Haven't eagled that hole from the green, have 3 hole outs from off the green for eagle though. Maybe I'm better off missing it...

[sirchunksalot]

I went down to the local DSG today to hit up the launch monitor, and let's just say it wasn't pretty. I was so ashamed I didn't take pictures or notes. I will say that the Sub Zero hit the ball straight on the majority of shots, but I just suck when it comes to hitting indoors. Spin was high, I'm talking 4000+ rpm, except for the absolute worm burners I hit on three shots.

 

To play off of a post that[mention=56267]golfinnut[/mention] posted "29 reasons I didn't play well today" here are the reasons I can't hit in simulators.

 

1. The pressure of people watching me

2. Couldn't properly warm up

3. Not enough pressure

4. Too much pressure

5. The sound of this club indoors throws off my equilibrium.

6. Didn't wear socks

7. The rubber ball holders

8. Hitting Maxfli's

9. Being self conscious

10. It wasn't GC Quad

11. Not wearing golf shoes

12. Thinking about new putter grips

13. The air conditioning was blowing the wrong way

14. My glutes weren't firing

15. I was out of sync

16. I was over swinging

17. This game likes to humble you

 

At least I had fun as the weather is bad here in the Southeast right now and I was able to hit, even if my confidence in my swing dropped. I did see some good hits, one went 243 and another went 237.

 

I'm still ecstatic with the performance of the driver, seeing how bad I was doing today I find the forgiveness of the club to be awesome.

 

 

 

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[THEZIPR23]

33 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I went down to the local DSG today to hit up the launch monitor, and let's just say it wasn't pretty. I was so ashamed I didn't take pictures or notes. I will say that the Sub Zero hit the ball straight on the majority of shots, but I just suck when it comes to hitting indoors. Spin was high, I'm talking 4000+ rpm, except for the absolute worm burners I hit on three shots.

 

To play off of a post that[mention=56267]golfinnut[/mention] posted "29 reasons I didn't play well today" here are the reasons I can't hit in simulators.

 

1. The pressure of people watching me

2. Couldn't properly warm up

3. Not enough pressure

4. Too much pressure

5. The sound of this club indoors throws off my equilibrium.

6. Didn't wear socks

7. The rubber ball holders

8. Hitting Maxfli's

9. Being self conscious

10. It wasn't GC Quad

11. Not wearing golf shoes

12. Thinking about new putter grips

13. The air conditioning was blowing the wrong way

14. My glutes weren't firing

15. I was out of sync

16. I was over swinging

17. This game likes to humble you

 

At least I had fun as the weather is bad here in the Southeast right now and I was able to hit, even if my confidence in my swing dropped. I did see some good hits, one went 243 and another went 237.

 

I'm still ecstatic with the performance of the driver, seeing how bad I was doing today I find the forgiveness of the club to be awesome.

 

 

 

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Don't sweat it. I HATE hitting indoors. Just doesn't feel right.

[PING Apologist #9]

1 hour ago, sirchunksalot said:

I went down to the local DSG today to hit up the launch monitor, and let's just say it wasn't pretty. I was so ashamed I didn't take pictures or notes. I will say that the Sub Zero hit the ball straight on the majority of shots, but I just suck when it comes to hitting indoors. Spin was high, I'm talking 4000+ rpm, except for the absolute worm burners I hit on three shots.

 

To play off of a post that[mention=56267]golfinnut[/mention] posted "29 reasons I didn't play well today" here are the reasons I can't hit in simulators.

 

1. The pressure of people watching me

2. Couldn't properly warm up

3. Not enough pressure

4. Too much pressure

5. The sound of this club indoors throws off my equilibrium.

6. Didn't wear socks

7. The rubber ball holders

8. Hitting Maxfli's

9. Being self conscious

10. It wasn't GC Quad

11. Not wearing golf shoes

12. Thinking about new putter grips

13. The air conditioning was blowing the wrong way

14. My glutes weren't firing

15. I was out of sync

16. I was over swinging

17. This game likes to humble you

 

At least I had fun as the weather is bad here in the Southeast right now and I was able to hit, even if my confidence in my swing dropped. I did see some good hits, one went 243 and another went 237.

 

I'm still ecstatic with the performance of the driver, seeing how bad I was doing today I find the forgiveness of the club to be awesome.

 

 

 

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My one and only experience hitting indoors was my G410 fitting and it too was awful even when several of your factors were not issues for me. I attempted to set my self up for success, but it was ruined from a bad mental-focus stand-point me thinks....

• I had my shoes & socks
• I used my balls
• I warmed up with my own wedge, 7i & driver
• There was just myself and my "fitter"

What could go wrong? Right?!!

I blame it on the rubber tee...Oh and the fact that they didn't have a SFT head either...

[edingc]

1 hour ago, THEZIPR23 said:

Don't sweat it. I HATE hitting indoors. Just doesn't feel right.

Yup, really, really unnatural. Even covered driving ranges are terrible for me.

[sirchunksalot]

18 minutes ago, PING Apologist #9 said:

 I attempted to set my self up for success, but it was ruined from a bad mental-focus stand-point me thinks...

I believe that's my problem, my brain gets in the way of a good golf swing.

 

This game is mental, or I am because I like playing it.

[edingc]

Played 18 today, shooting 89 on a tough little course that I've never played before. Had two awful drives, no fault of the club, though. My miss at the moment is either an unbalanced duck hook or a straight left pull, and they cost me three strokes today.

Learning to love playing my usual fade. Driving distances today: 237, 245, 201 (nasty high block fade following an OB left), 236, 220 (pull left), 234, 240, 247. Consistent. I like it!

The 236 yard drive cut the corner on a par 5. I stuffed a nine iron to 15 feet and hit the putt for my first ever eagle! Two of the par 5s were reachable today because of my drives.

[PING Apologist #9]

4 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I believe that's my problem, my brain gets in the way of a good golf swing.

 

This game is mental, or I am because I like playing it.

TOTALLY!  Still not gonna stop me from getting better irons or maybe even a new putter though..!

[sirchunksalot]

@edingc congrats on the eagle! That's awesome!

TOTALLY!  Still not gonna stop me from getting better irons or maybe even a new putter though..!

I'm having a hard time not getting a new putter, I've got the bug. I'm planning on getting a new grip on mine to see if that can help to scratch the itch. If not, I might give in to the temptation.

What irons you thinking about? G410? Those are some sweet looking irons.

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[PING Apologist #9]

24 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

@edingc congrats on the eagle! That's awesome!

I'm having a hard time not getting a new putter, I've got the bug. I'm planning on getting a new grip on mine to see if that can help to scratch the itch. If not, I might give in to the temptation.

What irons you thinking about? G410? Those are some sweet looking irons.

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Yeah, you got my number, G410...go figure right??!. I haven't even hit one yet and yet I've "built" my dream set on line about 50-times..!

Then I made the deadly sin of putting with a couple of new PING Sigma 2 mallets at the Pro Shop the other day. Man does that new soft face on those feel sweet! Which putter(s) are you lookng at?

[PING Apologist #9]

40 minutes ago, edingc said:

Played 18 today, shooting 89 on a tough little course that I've never played before. Had two awful drives, no fault of the club, though. My miss at the moment is either an unbalanced duck hook or a straight left pull, and they cost me three strokes today.

Learning to love playing my usual fade. Driving distances today: 237, 245, 201 (nasty high block fade following an OB left), 236, 220 (pull left), 234, 240, 247. Consistent. I like it!

The 236 yard drive cut the corner on a par 5. I stuffed a nine iron to 15 feet and hit the putt for my first ever eagle! Two of the par 5s were reachable today because of my drives.

Nice work out there Bud! Congrats on the eagle and here's to many more!!!

[GolfSpy BOS]

I went down to the local DSG today to hit up the launch monitor, and let's just say it wasn't pretty. I was so ashamed I didn't take pictures or notes. I will say that the Sub Zero hit the ball straight on the majority of shots, but I just suck when it comes to hitting indoors. Spin was high, I'm talking 4000+ rpm, except for the absolute worm burners I hit on three shots.
 
To play off of a post that[mention=56267]golfinnut[/mention] posted "29 reasons I didn't play well today" here are the reasons I can't hit in simulators.
 
1. The pressure of people watching me
2. Couldn't properly warm up
3. Not enough pressure
4. Too much pressure
5. The sound of this club indoors throws off my equilibrium.
6. Didn't wear socks
7. The rubber ball holders
8. Hitting Maxfli's
9. Being self conscious
10. It wasn't GC Quad
11. Not wearing golf shoes
12. Thinking about new putter grips
13. The air conditioning was blowing the wrong way
14. My glutes weren't firing
15. I was out of sync
16. I was over swinging
17. This game likes to humble you
 
At least I had fun as the weather is bad here in the Southeast right now and I was able to hit, even if my confidence in my swing dropped. I did see some good hits, one went 243 and another went 237.
 
I'm still ecstatic with the performance of the driver, seeing how bad I was doing today I find the forgiveness of the club to be awesome.
 
 
 
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So true story...

Hitting the same set up of Cobra F9 driver 9 degree. Standard settings. HZRDUS smoke stiff.

Pga tour superstore on GC2 average spin was in the low mid 2,000s

Golf galaxy on trackman mid to high 3000s

Since that experiment I’ve read Trackman is basically terrible for spin indoors without about 20 feet to the net and metallic dots on the balls. And CG2 has more accurate spin, but less accuracy on draw/fade due to gear effect and strike location without the head tracking module.

Not sure what you were hitting on... but maybe add that to your list of reasons?! Haha


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[sirchunksalot]

Yeah, you got my number, G410...go figure right??!. I haven't even hit one yet and yet I've "built" my dream set on line about 50-times..!
Then I made the deadly sin of putting with a couple of new PING Sigma 2 mallets at the Pro Shop the other day. Man does that new soft face on those feel sweet! Which putter(s) are you lookng at?

Odyssey O-Works EXO 7 and the TA Impact #3. I've hit both at DSG and really like the roll and feel of both, they're sweet. I keep going on there just to roll these, sounds like I need to give the Ping Sigma 2 mallets a try. I have an old Ping B60 that I used to game, but retired it to go to a mallet.



@B.Boston their set-up is a Full Swing Pro Studio simulator. I can't say I know much about them. Next time I'll probably book a session at either Golf Headquarters or Choo Choo Academy and Range since GH has GC Quad and Choo Choo has Trackman and probably has a place to hit it outdoors.

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[GolfSpy BOS]

Odyssey O-Works EXO 7 and the TA Impact #3. I've hit both at DSG and really like the roll and feel of both, they're sweet. I keep going on there just to roll these, sounds like I need to give the Ping Sigma 2 mallets a try. I have an old Ping B60 that I used to game, but retired it to go to a mallet.



@B.Boston their set-up is a Full Swing Pro Studio simulator. I can't say I know much about them. Next time I'll probably book a session at either Golf Headquarters or Choo Choo Academy and Range since GH has GC Quad and Choo Choo has Trackman and probably has a place to hit it outdoors.

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That B-60 shape is what sold me on the feel of a milled blade vs an mallet. I was looking at two-ball putters and the like about 5 years ago. Tried a B-60 shaped odyssey black series and it ruined mallets for me. I ended up with a Scotty Newport, and I still try mallets out but just don’t like the feel as much.

Now you got me wanting to check eBay for some old black series putters! Haha

The sim we have at the gym at work is a full swing, but I’d have to assume a lower tier. I find it to be pretty accurate from a ball speed and spin perspective.


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[sirchunksalot]

9 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

 

That B-60 shape is what sold me on the feel of a milled blade vs an mallet. I was looking at two-ball putters and the like about 5 years ago. Tried a B-60 shaped odyssey black series and it ruined mallets for me. I ended up with a Scotty Newport, and I still try mallets out but just don’t like the feel as much.

Now you got me wanting to check eBay for some old black series putters! Haha

The sim we have at the gym at work is a full swing, but I’d have to assume a lower tier. I find it to be pretty accurate from a ball speed and spin perspective.


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This forum definitely has a way of making you want to go out and search for something and buy it, it can be a bad influence.

 

Thanks for the feedback on the simulator, I really haven't talked to anyone who's had experience with one and could offer comparisons. Up until last year, I had never been on one, so my personal experience was limited.

[GolfSpy BOS]

This forum definitely has a way of making you want to go out and search for something and buy it, it can be a bad influence.
 
Thanks for the feedback on the simulator, I really haven't talked to anyone who's had experience with one and could offer comparisons. Up until last year, I had never been on one, so my personal experience was limited.

Yeah seems like they all have their quirks. At least when they’re inside and have to calculate the ball flight. I know I hit some of my usual heel-cuts that were showing up as pull draws. I guess that’s the good side of having a club with good feedback.

I also usually don’t swing my best in the sim, but I’m getting better at it. Gotta stick to your preshot routine and get in the zone.


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[ole gray]

I LOVE my Cally XR16 Driver however this latest cannon sounds sweeter than maple syrup on hot buttered pancakes !  You all did an excellent job on your reviews.  Thank you for the hard work and the hours you put in to bring us this info.  You folks have me drooling like a beagle hound in a rabbit race.    Well done 

[PING Apologist #9]

14 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

 

 

Odyssey O-Works EXO 7 and the TA Impact #3. I've hit both at DSG and really like the roll and feel of both, they're sweet. I keep going on there just to roll these, sounds like I need to give the Ping Sigma 2 mallets a try. I have an old Ping B60 that I used to game, but retired it to go to a mallet.



@B.Boston their set-up is a Full Swing Pro Studio simulator. I can't say I know much about them. Next time I'll probably book a session at either Golf Headquarters or Choo Choo Academy and Range since GH has GC Quad and Choo Choo has Trackman and probably has a place to hit it outdoors.

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Soooo classic! Nice pics!

[sirchunksalot]

I LOVE my Cally XR16 Driver however this latest cannon sounds sweeter than maple syrup on hot buttered pancakes !  You all did an excellent job on your reviews.  Thank you for the hard work and the hours you put in to bring us this info.  You folks have me drooling like a beagle hound in a rabbit race.    Well done 

You'd have to throw some peanut butter and chocolate chips on it to make it even sweeter. I'll be honest, I didn't want to like the Epic Flash more than the G400 LST, but it's performance won me over. It just wants to fly straight. Thank you for the kind words OG.

Soooo classic! Nice pics!

I thought you might like seeing it, it's a beautiful putter. Now that we've been talking about it, I might just have to take it out and put a round in with it.

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[PING Apologist #9]

4 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

You'd have to throw some peanut butter and chocolate chips on it to make it even sweeter. I'll be honest, I didn't want to like the Epic Flash more than the G400 LST, but it's performance won me over. It just wants to fly straight. Thank you for the kind words OG. I thought you might like seeing it, it's a beautiful putter. Now that we've been talking about it, I might just have to take it out and put a round in with it.

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Hell yeah! Give that old girl a whirl! Love to hear about it if you do!

[BJMDO]

I told myself I was content with my bag as I updated everything this year except the driver and putter.  These reviews have me very curious!